Auxiliary car-step



- P. SWANSON AND A. CARLSON..

AUXILlARY CAR STEP.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8,1921. 1,400,577, v Patented Dec. 20, 1921 2 SHEETS-SHEEI 2.

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Application filed July 8,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PETER Swanson and AxnL CAnnsoN, both citizens of the United States, residino at Ely, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Auxiliary Car-Steps, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to auxiliary steps for a railway car platform.

The principal object of the invention is provide a more. practical and safe step this character than heretofore employed. Another object is to provide a novel form of combination auxiliary step and trap door operating device.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the further description thereof.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a. perspective view of the broken away lower portion of the vestibule of a railway car showing the under back View of the steps into the vestibule with the auxiliary step and trap door of the vestibule closed, and

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the trap door and the step open.

1 and 2 represent the opposite side walls of the ordinary steps into the vestibule of a railway passenger car, to the lower outer corners of which is pivotally suspended by the suitable arms 3 the auxiliary step 4, the arms 3 being pivotally attached to the rearmost corners of the step, as at 5, so that the step when lowered into receptive p0- sition for a pedestrian will occur in proper sequence with the stationary vestibule steps, and when folded upwardly and backwardly will occur in close proximity to the under side of the lowermost stationary steps. Spaced arms 6 are rigidly fixed to the rearmost edge of the step 4, extend rearwardly thereof, and are bent upwardly as at 7, where they are pivotally connected, as at 8, to depending arms 9, rigidly fixed to the transverse rotatable shaft 10, which is suitably journaled as at 1.1 upon the inner faces of the rearmost portions of the side walls 1 and 2. This shaft 10 projects outwardly beyond the cutermost side wall 1, as at 12, where there is securely attached thereto the lever 13, having formed in one end thereof to of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921. 1921- Serial No. 483,168.

the elongated longitudinal slot 14 in which it is pivotally attached as at 15 to the operating lever 16, the upper end 17 of which extends through the platform 13 of the vestibule where it is manually controlled. This operating lever is pivotally mounted as at 19 in a suitable bracket 20 attached to the vestibule platform 18 and its upper end is provided with a widened portion or enlargement 21, longitudinally of the top of which is provided a suitable operating handle 22, the enlargement 21 being for the purpose of furnishing added weight to aid in maintaining the door and step either in their opened or closed position. The lower end of the operating lever extends somewhat beyond its pivotal connection 15 and has formed thereon an offset handle 23, this bemg provlded sothat the auxiliary step may be manually operated from the outside as well as from the inside of the vestibule.

The relative length and connection of the levers 13 and 16jarepreferably such that when the step 4 is in its fully lowered position the angular relation of the two arms is at least 90 degrees, or more to insure against jackknifing of the levers when weight is applied to the step.

An arcuately shaped wearing plate 24 is shown as fixed to the outer face of the side wall 1 of the vestibule to prevent scraping of the side wall by the operating parts of the mechanism.

Intermediate of the arms 9 on the shaft 10 is a rearwardly projecting arm 27, which is pivotally connected as at 28 to a short rod 29, pivotally connected as at 30 to the lever 31 centrally pivotally mounted as at 32 to the rear wall 33 of the vestibule steps, the opposite end of the lever 31 being pivotally connected as at 34 in the slotted arm 35, the opposite end of which is securely fixed to the horizontally disposed shaft 36 upon which the trap door 37 of the vestibule is mounted in such a manner that when the shaft 36 is rotated the trap door is either opened or closed.

By this connection just described, it is evident that when the shaft 10 is rotated during the act of raising or lowering the auxiliary step 4 the trap door 37 will be simultaneously operated, that is to say, when the upper end of the operating lever is thrown outwardly the auxiliary step 4 will be lowered simultaneously with the opening up of the trap door 37 of the vestibule,

' step adjustably suspended thus permitting the vestibule door 38 to be opened which otherwise is held against being opened. by it extending downwardly past the trap door when the latter is closed in its horizontal position.

It is quite evident that the connection .with the trapdoor may be dispensed with and the latter operated in the usual manner which would in no way interfere with the operation of the auxiliary step by the mech anism herein described, and that various modifications ofthe specificstructure here shown and within thescope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with the vestibule steps of a railway car having an auxiliary beneath the lowermost vestibule step andmeansfor manually adjusting said auxiliary step, of a wei hted oaeratin lever coo erativel as- 23 2D V auxiliary step whereby they are operated simultaneously, a weighted operating lever extending within the vestibule and means externally of the vestibule for operating the controlling the entrance an adjustable auxiliary step, of means cosociated within said means. u

2. The combination wlth the vestibule steps of a railway car having a trap door to said steps and operatively connecting the trap door and the lever.

3. The combination with the. vestibule V 7 steps of a railway car having an auxiliary step adjustably suspended beneath the lowermost vestibule step and means for manually adjusting said auxiliary step, of a weighted operating lever within the vestibule cooperatively associated within said means and an extension'upon the lower end of said lever for operating same externally of the vestibule. V

4:. The combination with 1 the vestibule steps of. a railway car having a trap door controlling the entranceto said steps and an adjustable auxiliary step below the low- I errnost stationary step, of arms extending rearwardly from and fixed to the auxiliary step, a horizontally disposed rotatable shaft j ournaled at the rear of the stationary steps and operatively connected with the arms fixed to the auxiliary step, a-lever fixed to said shaft and extending upwardly there from, an operating lever pivotally mounted to the floor of the vestibule and extendingtherewithin,the lower end of whichis pivotally connected with the lever fixed to the shaft, and levers cooperatively connecting the rotatable shaft with the trap door whereby the latter is'simultaneously operated with the auxiliary step. i

In testimony. whereof we hereunto affix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses. 1 I .7 V I I 7 PETER. SWVANSON.

AXEL CARLSON.

Witnesses O. O. I'IEGMAN, A.'W. NELSON. 

